Usage

The Mk-55 is a liquid fuel engine with thrust vector control that allows efficient control of the rocket during descent and landing. The Mk-55 is fairly low-thrust. This is offset by its comparatively low weight, however. The engine has a TWR comparable to the LV-T45.

The low thrust and radial mounting makes a single Mk-55 unsuitable as a main engine on most lower stages, but it can be used to augment other engines. A common use of this engine is in lander designs, as it eliminates the need to have a vulnerable engine in an easily-damaged position. The Isp of this engine is adequate, being 275 s at 1 atm and 305 s in vacuum, not far behind the LV-T30 and LV-T45.

Additionally, landing legs can be added to these engines. This is an advantage shared with other radial engines: the LV-1R, the 24-77 and the O-10.

Like the LV-1R and the 24-77, this engine has the highest gimbal range at 8 degrees.

Product description

“

After an intensive search for an engineer crazy enough to plan and build a revolutionary new engine type, researchers turned to renowned engineer Eumon Kerman, one of the top minds in the industry. He failed miserably at the job, and this is what we ended up with. Hey, at least it works well with other (Rockomax) large (Rockomax) engines when you want more control. Sorry, no combo deals.